1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tray anti-opening apparatus, which prevents a tray from being opened by exterior impact so as to be able to meet the requirements of the interior compartment door.
2. Description of Related Art
As the use of a storage space in the interior of an automobile is increased, the application of trays capable of storing personal goods is gradually increased. Among these trays, an ash tray capable of containing cigarette ash and butts resulting from smoking, and a cup holder capable of holding a cup in which any liquid such as potable water is contained have been typically used.
Further, one of the trays which have recently been applied is an upper tray, which is mounted in the top face of a crash pad so as to enable a user to use it more conveniently, for instance, to store compact discs.
The upper tray mounted on the crash pad will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating a conventional upper tray mounted in a crash pad. The crash pad 10 is equipped with an instrument panel, a radio, an ashtray, air conditioner controls, and so on, and is provided with an upper tray capable of storing personal goods in a top face thereof.
Specifically, the crash pad 10 is provided with an openable tray door 20 on the top face of the middle thereof. Thus, when the goods are stored in or taken out from the upper tray, the tray door 20 is opened. When not in use, the tray door 20 is kept closed by a locking device.
FIG. 2 illustrates a typical position of the head of an occupant when a collision occurs. In the event of the collision, the head of an occupant who takes a driver seat or a passenger seat collides with the crash pad 10. At this time, the tray door, installed on an impact zone or its adjacent zone with which the head can collide, is opened by head impact.
In order to prevent such a phenomenon, the tray door has restrictions on an interior compartment door and a head impact area. In order to satisfy these restrictions, a knob formed on an outer face of the tray door should have an enough protrusion height. In the case in which the protrusion height of the knob is increased, the tray door has a poor external appearance, and the back of the hand of the user can be injured when the hand of the user is put into or out of the tray.
Particularly, in the case in which the knob for manipulating the locking device of the tray door is a push type, the tray door is very easily opened when the impact is applied to the crash pad 10.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.